


No Thanks Giving

by Officialbroop



Series: (thanks)Giving Gallavich [1]
Category: gallavich - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Gallavich, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Officialbroop/pseuds/Officialbroop
Summary: Thanksgiving is a time where you come together with your family, eat delicious food, and laugh your asses off. But, in the Gallagher house, something always has to ruin the loving occasion.





	1. Give Thanks

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place during later season 2 of Shameless (some events took place in 2x11 episode Just As The Pilgrims Intended) NOT ALL EVENTS FROM  
> THE EPISODE TOOK PLACE
> 
> **trigger warning**

The leaves are falling, the smell of sugar and spice and everything nice fills the air. It's that time of the year where white girls come out of their basic shells and pop into shells plastered with more basic shit, roaming the streets with Uggs and leggings and a hot coffee in hand. It's Mandy's time of year where she actually decides to start wearing clothes, thanks to the shitty instillation in the Milkovich home. It's also flu season, and Mickey has been dreading September the whole year thanks to his weak immune system. _And_ because he knows that Ian will be on his ass about Thanksgiving.

__All he's been hearing the whole week is "what are you doing for Thanksgiving" and "you could always come with us". He's too pussy to ask Mickey directly, but who could blame him? He'd rather avoid the question than get punched in the face, thank you very much. But what Ian doesn't know is that if he would just ask Mickey, Mick would probably say yes. But why the fuck would Ian know that?_ _

__Mickey sits in his messy room, quietly laying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. His mind is blank with no thoughts running through it and it's starting to scare the shit out of him. _What time is it?_ Mickey asks himself to make sure that his brain is still properly functioning. With how much abuse he endures from Terry on a daily basis he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with a brain aneurism or some sort of mental illness. __

____He is halfway out of bed when his door bursts open and Mandy walks in, wearing sweatpants and- is that Ian's sweatshirt. Why the fuck is she wearing his boyfriend's- is that what they are- sweatshirt? He balls his hand in a fist around the blanket underneath him to stop the jealousy from rising in his stomach, causing an uneasy feeling that he can't explain. "Why are you wearing Ian's jacket?" He hisses out as Mandy simply puts a hand on her hip._ _ _ _

____"Why was it in your room?" She spits sassily as Mickey groans and palms his head with his hand._ _ _ _

____"Why were you in my fucking room in the first place?"_ _ _ _

____"I was looking for the bat. Found the sweatshirt and realized it smelled like Ian. You two fuck the other night?" She asks, being the nosey shit she is._ _ _ _

____"Which night?" Mickey sasses back. She can't just say 'the other night' because she could be implying any of the past four nights- not counting last night when Ian had some dumb ROTC training shit. Though Mickey wasn't complaining, he loves Ian's muscular physique. As Mandy once said, he's an innocent child in a tough man's body'._ _ _ _

____"A few nights ago I heard pounding against the wall. Told Iggy it was you and some girl, but I know it was Ian. You can't hide it from me forever." Mandy explains with a sassy arm cross._ _ _ _

____"Obviously not." Mickey groans as Mandy awkwardly leans against the wall. Mickey simply rubs his eyes and looks back up at Mandy in confusion. "The fuck are you still in here?"_ _ _ _

____"Oh, yeah." She grins and hops onto Mickeys bed with a squeak as the mattress shifts to fit two people. The piece of shit is so weak that it can barely hold Mandy's skeleton ass. "We got invited to the Gallaghers for Thanksgiving. You coming with me?" She asks as Mickey sighs and plops back down onto the bed. There's no point in arguing his way out of this now, not with Mandy's persuasive ass. And Ian, the sly fucker, knew that._ _ _ _

____"Why would you go without me? It's not like you're fucking Ian." Mickey states, but then takes a second glance at Mandy and Ian's stupid flowery-scented jacket. He always smells so girly, but Mickey likes it, though he'd never admit it. "Wait. Are you?"_ _ _ _

____Mandy rolls her eyes. "No. I'm not fucking your boyfriend. But..." She beams a sheepish grin and does a ridiculous hair twirl, but Mickey still can't catch on to what the fuck she's doing._ _ _ _

____"But what?"_ _ _ _

____"I fucked Lip." She admits as she actually blushes. _Is she high right now?_ Mandy has fucked everyone. Why is she so bent on Lip? Maybe it's because he's a Gallagher. Shit, they've got that goofy charm that makes you want to come back for more. Ian is like a pumpkin spice fuckin' latte, you drink him once and at first you think the drink is lame and too sugary but you come back for another and suddenly you're hooked on the sweet flavor adding an extra bit of pizzaz to your life. And Lip, well he's just an ass. Mickey doesn't understand what Mandy sees in him. Then again, Mickey is just as big of a prick- maybe bigger- and he doesn't know what Ian sees in him, either. Some questions are meant to be left unanswered. _ _ _ _

____"So you're coming with me tomorrow night?" Mandy asks, hope in her voice. Mickey grunts and nods his head, standing up to get dressed and head out to the grocery store, since he knows that Mandy will insist on bringing something over there. She may be a bitch, but she's a generous one. Sometimes._ _ _ _

____Just as Mandy is turning to leave the room, Mickey calls after her. "Mandy." He says as she turns her head. "How did we get this mixed up with two people from the Gallagher family?" He asks as she simply shakes her head and sighs._ _ _ _

____"Fuck knows. But I feel worse for them. They're stuck with us." She says as she leaves Mickey alone with his thoughts. Jesus, the Gallaghers fucked up there._ _ _ _

_____________________________________________ _ _ _

____ _ _

____"How did we get this mixed up with two people from the Milkovich family?" Lip asks his nervous brother, who simply laughs and shakes his head in disbelief._ _ _ _

____"I don't think we'll ever know the answer to that. And it's better that way." Ian says and Lip knows he's right. They're both head over heels with two of the toughest people in their neighborhood, whom of which are shitty at expressing any form emotions. Especially Mickey, which has to kill Ian everyday. Lip can see how anxious his brother is after he called Mandy and invited her and his thug boyfriend to come over for dinner, and he's been checking his phone every second._ _ _ _

____It finally rings after a few minutes of waiting, and Ian picks it up likes he's the flash. Lip sees Ian smile and exhale of relief as he thanks who Lip figures to be Mandy (Mickey doesn't seem like the calling type, but more like the 'unexpectedly come over in the middle of the night to tell you something lame and then go kill someone' type)._ _ _ _

____"They're coming." Ian says breathlessly as if he just had the best kiss of his entire life._ _ _ _

____"I can tell by the way you're blushing like a little bitch." Lip teases, and Ian looks like he's in his own little world by the way he proudly smiles at the ceiling._ _ _ _

____"Mickey is actually coming." He beams dopily. "Call me dumb, but it's like... It's like he actually wants to make an effort to have a relationship. Like- like I'm more than just a fuck."_ _ _ _

____"Ian, you're obviously more than a fuck. Mickey would've dropped your ass already if you weren't."_ _ _ _

____Ian looks over at Lip with optimism in his eyes and grins foolishly. "You think so?"_ _ _ _

____"Yeah. And his sister's fuckin' smokin' man." Lip says, talking a long drag of his cigarette and handing it over to his brother. "Oh, Carl needs to know where the gay wieners go." Lip snorts in amusement, the way he pronounces his words elegant as if he is reading poetry. Ian nearly falls off Lips bunk in laughter as Lip says, "he said that was his poem for English. Got a D."_ _ _ _

____"Really? He actually got a passing grade with that?" Ian asks in shock as Lip nods, still chuckling under his breath._ _ _ _

____"Apparently so."_ _ _ _

____"Well what did you tell him?"_ _ _ _

____"I said to just think of it as one dude plugging another dudes toilet." Lip tells Ian who coughs in disgust._ _ _ _

____"Jesus, Lip, it's a little more significant than that." Ian protests as Lip simply raises his hands in surrender._ _ _ _

____"I wouldn't know." He says. Ian simply chuckles and Lip decides to push his luck by saying, "and it doesn't seem that significant between you and Mickey."_ _ _ _

____Ian snaps his neck to the side and hisses, "you don't know shit, Lip." Before he can stop himself, Ian tackles him and throws a solid punch at his nose, causing blood to smear on his fingers. Ian earns a kick in the stomach, which sends him flying off the bunk bed and into the wall. Ian scrambles to stand up, the back of his head throbbing, and jumps up with all of his energy to grap Lips shoulders and throw him onto the floor. He punched his brother in the stomach twice before Lip kicks his feet and sends Ian flying into the dresser as glasses fall and shatter into a million pieces on the floor._ _ _ _

____Ian stares at Lip with wide eyes, whispering cuss words under his breath as they stare in fear at Debbie's broken art project. The little glass ornament isn't as shattered as the rest of the glass and Lip thinks, what the hell? He scrambles with bloody fingers to pick up the pieces and orders his younger brother to search for glue, which he does frantically. Ian starts to freak out when glue is nowhere to be found, and he seriously considers telling Debbie about what happened and hoping for the best._ _ _ _

____There's no need as Fiona rushes through the door, mumbling "what the fuck?" as she glances back and forth between both of her brother's battered faces. She then look down at the glass teeming at her feet and sees Lip trying to piece together a glass sphere- or what's left of one._ _ _ _

____"Debbie's ornament." Ian briefly explains as Fiona nods in response. Surprisingly, she's not mad. Yes, she's disappointed that Ian and Lip always have to beat the shit out of each other to solve any problems, but she blames that on the Gallagher genes. She goes to Debbies room and grabs the hot glue gun, tripping over a doll house full of naked barbies, which she only scoffs about. She'll deal with that later._ _ _ _

____When she returns, Lip has most of the pieces figured out as Ian works on pulling glass out of his hair. Fiona and Lip finally piece the stupid glass ball back together, after Fiona burns herself twice and Lip jabs his finger, and they bring it back into Debbie's room as if nothing happened. Why it was in the boys' room in the first place, she has no idea, but something just screams 'Carl'._ _ _ _

____She simply glares at Lip, giving him a silent warning, and leaves the room without saying a word. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and knowing the Gallaghers there will be enough to get mad about. She knows that something will go wrong. It always does. They all know it._ _ _ _

_____________________________________________ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Ian wakes up extremely early the next morning, checking his phone to notice the time: 4:44 AM. _Make a wish_ , Ian thinks to himself as he shuts his eyes. He can only bring himself to picture Mickey, or a slightly older but still ridiculously hot version of Mickey, hugging Ian and kissing him in front of his family. That's what Ian wants with Mickey. That's his wish. And why is that so much to ask for? Everyone else gets love easy, a come and go type thing until the right person shows up. For Ian, that perfect match is Mickey. But he's not sure how much longer he can go without ever having hugged Mickey once in his life. Their arms have never wrapped around each other, no protection or safety. Instead Mickey builds a wall around himself with the highest security on the fuckin' Earth. All Ian wants is for Mickey to break down that wall, even for a second, and have an actual intimate moment with him. So that's what Ian wishes for, of course getting his hopes up because he's a dreamer. Or as Mickey prefers to call it, a 'sappy romantic girl'. ___ _

______Ian, his nerves getting the best of him, decides to start early by getting the house cleaned up. There is shit everyone, and Ian curses loudly when he steps on one of Liam's toys and stubs his toe on the counter. He clears out the floor, wipes down the furniture and table tops, even runs to the store to grab the list of ingredients that Fiona left out for whoever woke up first, and places down some festive decorations and table cloths. He leaves the rearranging of the furniture to Lip, the Turkey to Mandy and Mick, the alcohol to Kev and Ve, and of course the cooking to the one and only Fiona Gallagher- of course with Debbie's help. And, just in case, he locks the liquor cabinet in case Frank gets any ideas._ _ _ _ _ _

______He waits for the time to pass, which feels like it's taking for-fucking-ever, by watching television and reading half of some stupid romance novel that Fiona has lying around. Some guy is a prick, most are, and a sweet girl falls in love with him. He likes her but won't hang out with her because she's weird and in the end she disappears and he tries to find her only to see her with a new guy. Ian groans and throws the book at the wall, placing his stressed head in his hands and waiting for a knock at the door._ _ _ _ _ _

______Debbie and Carl both come downstairs to join Ian, the two mesmerized by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade playing in shitty quality. Then again, they probably thought that a parade was a myth before now. Ian's pretty sure that Carl didn't think squirrels existed before he got attacked by one. _"Carl you can't just touch a squirrel" Ian had scolded as Carl inched closer and closer. "Well who's stopping me?" He asked mischievously. He had a point, Ian frankly didn't have the energy to convince him to leave it alone and Carl might as well learn his lesson. Ian shrugged and as Carl was a foot away the squirrel jumped and latched onto Carl's neck as he screamed and clawed it off. Ian and Mickey both laughed and shook their heads in amusement. "That squirrel was stopping you," Mickey teased as he followed Ian inside. _____ _ _ _ _

________Ian jolts up as he hears a knock at the door, and he practically collapses with disappointment when he opens the door and sees Ve, who squeals, holding a big case of wine, and Kev wis behind her struggling to hold five cases of liquor. Ian helps, of course, and Ve runs upstairs to wake a very annoyed Fiona. Ian notices how late it is already; three in the afternoon; and grumbles when he even hears the mention of Mickey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He's also really hungry, which isn't helping his attitude at all. Lip hasn't woken up yet, and thought Fiona is worrying Ian knows it's because Lip stayed up all night sending dick pics to Mandy. He may not be that smart, but he's not blind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Ian." Fiona calls him over to the spot where her and Ve are standing and he hugs them both. "Why is Lip still sleeping?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Sending nudes all night." Ian says and Fiona laughs, and when she realsizes he's not joking her and Ve crack up even more. Their laughter is immediately cut off by a loud boom, followed by a "what the fuck?" that can only be Mickey's. Ian runs outside as fast as his feet will carry him and smiles like a dork at Mickey with a big Turkey im his arm. Not only did he shower and brush his teeth for the occasion, but he fucking dressed up. He dressed up! Ian wants to practically jump for joy but he restrains his happy feeling by taking the turkey from Mickey and carrying it inside._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"My boyfriend's here." Ian grins at Fiona who smiles proudly in response._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"If that Milkovich kid has a smudge of dirt on his face when he gets in this house, I'll kill him." Fiona teases, stabbing the knife in the air._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No promises, Fi. Carl kinda blew him up outside." He says as Fiona mumbles something under her breath and runs outside to take some form of explosive out of Carl's hands. Mickey brushes himself off in front of the door and Ian towers over him, smiling like a doofus. He can't help it, he feels so hopeful knowing that Mickey actually put effort into his appearance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"How do I look?" Mickey asks as Ian flattens his collar out for him and Mickey huffs out nervously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Really, really good. Like-" Ian steps back to examine his boyfriend- ?- and grins foolishly. "Like really great, Mick." Mickey nods and follows Ian into the house where Fiona and Ve gasp as they look at the new and improved Mickey Milkovich._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"You knew what a shower was this whole time and you still refused to take one?" Ve asks as Fiona bats her arm, laughing viscously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Guys." Ian spits as he glares at them both venomously, obviously embarrassed by the apologetic look he gives Mickey and they way he furrows his eyebrows in anger._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It's fine." Mickey reassures him. "I live with Terry, remember? This is actually kinda refreshing." He says as Fiona laughs and pulls him in for a hug. He awkwardly pats her back, still not used to getting affection, and Fiona notices his uncomfort as she squeezes him tighter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Terry. Stupid fucker, I tell you." Frank mutters mindlessly as he stumbles into the kitchen. He tries to open the liquor cabinet, failing, and all four watch him struggle in amusement before giving up. "That's just cruel." He groans. "Ya know, I pissed on Terry once. Almost killed me, but it was worth it." Lip says as Mickey stutters out a chuckle and can't control his laughter as he can only think of how angry Terry must've been._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian jumps as he feels a startling hand rest on his shoulder and sees Mandy appear from behind him, dressed in a beautiful black laced dress that's not too revealing but still has the Mandy vibe. "You couldn't have dressed any nicer?" Mickey whispers to her as she punches him in the arm and he squeezes her sides._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Sorry that I don't wanna look like a five-layered cheese pizza." She responds as Mickey looks up at Ian in concern._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I look like-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No. You look cute." Ian interrupts as Mickey mumbles 'fuck' and starts to take off his sweater. "Okay, okay you don't look cute." Ian trials off as he sees the white long sleeve that Mickey is wearing and he can feel his mind moan in pleasure from the ways Mickey's ass sticks out and his muscles tense awkwardly, his biceps bulging._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"If I call you cute again will you take off all your clothes?" Ian asks as Mickey laughs and shakes his head no, earning the chin from Ian. Maybe it's just his imagination, but Ian sees Mickey lean closer to him as his heart starts to be rapidly, but Mickey simply bats his arm instead when Mandy reappears._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Where's Lip?" She asks as Ian gives Mickey a confused look, and Mickey returns the gesture with a skeptical eyebrow raise. Ian points upstairs and she scoffs, asking "he's still asleep?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Yeah, he was sending dick picks all night long. Wore him out, I guess." Ian tells her as he notices Mickey make a vomiting gesture in the corner of his eye. Mandy blushes profusely as she stomps upstairs and grabs a pillow from Debbie's room, yelling "get up, Shithead." And she disappears inside._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"They dating?" Ian simply asks Mickey, who again cluelessly shrugs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I think. Seems like they're doing more than just that, though." He suggests as Ian shudders, not even wanting to think about that. Mickey nugdes Ian's shoulder suggestively as Ian nudges him back just a little harder. Mickey shoves Ian's arm away from him as Ian pushes Mickey towards the couch, where he loses his balance and falls onto the arm. "What the fuck Gallagher?" He growls as he stands up and shoves Ian harder into the corner of the counter, where he groans from the jabbing sensation in his side and, using all of his energy, Ian pushes Mickey as hard as he can into the cabinets in the kitchen. Mickey yelps as he burns his palm on the fuming stove._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Before they know it, a full-on shoving war has erupted between the two boys; Ian ramming his back into the wall, Mickey tripping over the coffee table and crashing into a dresser full of movies and useless shit that's there for show. They push and push until neither of them have the strength to shove any harder than they already are. That and Ian is already staring to show bruising on his pale, freckled body. His arms have black-purple-ish outlines on them, and Mickey has a few scrapes of his own. "Fuck you." Ian hisses and Mickey rolls his eyes dramatically._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Hey, you started it, man."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No I fucking didn't. You did."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Nah, pretty sure it was you, Gallagher. If I knew tappin' your goddamn shoulder would get your balls in a bunch... I probably still would've done it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Fuck you." Ian spits again as he stomps outside, Mickey following, with Mandy and Lip hot on their trail._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian stands by the back stairs, quietly sipping his beer- or more nursing it in concentration on his asshole boyfriend and bigger asshole of a brother- and he glares at Mickey begrudgingly. He can feel the blood pulsating under his skin where the bruises and scrapes are beginning to form on his discolored skin. He grunts, frustrated by the fact that Mickey is acting like nothing fucking happened. Ian knows it was his fault, though he's too stubborn to admit it, but he didn't get irritated by Mickey's harmless shoulder bump. He did it to try to relieve the rising anger that Mickey was causing him by his lack of affection._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian doesn't get it: why can't Mickey feel safe here? He knows that at least here he will be accepted, so why does he refuse to show the slightest bit of feeling towards Ian? Ian knows that what he's thinking is ridiculous. Of course Mickey isn't going to suddenly own up to his sexuality. Not after he's been hiding it his whole life in fear of Terry kicking his ass and beating him to a pulp. But, then again, this isn't Terry's house. This is the Gallagher household, and the only person to judge him would be Fi, but her reasons are strictly related to Ian's protection. Ian starts to loosen up when he realsizes that he only wants Mickey to feel safe, and he looks like he does even if he won't come out and say it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Being a nosey shit, Ian sneaks closer to Lip and Mickey and eavesdrops on their comversation. It's lame: mainly shit about Mandy and Lip's relationship and Lip criticizing Mickey for taking it up the ass. Typical Lip._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Need another beer?" Mandy asks Ian as she approaches him and tosses him a bottle, which he barely catches. "Find out anything interesting yet?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Other thank you fucking my brother?" Ian smirks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Mandy simply groans, gargling out, "fucking Lip," under her breath. "You'd find out eventually." She decides to say, not sure how to react in an awkward situation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"If you're fucking my brother and I'm fucking your brother, does that mean we're doing... Incense or whatever?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"You mean incest?" Mandy asks and she booms loudly as Ian nods innocently. "It's not incest if you're not related by blood." He sighs and takes a sip of her beer before continuing, "and don't worry about marriage or that shit. Don't think Lip and I'll last that long anyways. He obviously still likes his bitch ex."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Mandy, why the fuck do you think I'd be even considering marriage. Shit, I gave up hope of anything close to a hug a long time ago."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well I just thought-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well don't. You and I know that Mickey won't admit he's gay. At least not while Terry's still alive." Saying it out loud makes it sting harder, but Ian already knew he'd have to admit it at some point. Ian always thought it was weird, how he loves romance but somehow fell for Mickey Milkovich. He knew he should've stopped himself. He- and Lip- warned him about the dirty thug. But Ian was hooked and Mickey's severe lack of emotions torture him, but he refuses to give up the fight. Since day one is has made a pledge to hear the three words he's always wanted to come out do Mickey's mouth: I love you. Shit, he'd even settle for 'I think I might like you'. It's better than 'fuck off man' and a quick fuck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I feel bad for you. You got stuck with my brother, and he's like a leech. He sticks to you and it hurts peeling him off but it hurts more letting him suck you dry." Mandy says as she shoots daggers into his back with her squinting eyes that flames might shoot out of at any second._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Nicely put. I usually just keep it simple, say he's a cat. Cats are assholes and so is Mickey."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"And if you try to love it, it scratches you up. But, occasionally it comes around and rubs up against you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian stares over at the dark haired girl in shock and giggles, asking, "hoe do you know all of these? A few weeks ago you told me English is retarded."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Perks of dating your genius brother." She smiles dopily and Ian feels good for her, but can't ignore the jealousy in his chest. It bubbles inside him like a freshly-shaken can of Sprite and he struggles with keeping the lid closed so it doesn't explode everywhere. Ian has already exploded enough in the past couple days, and he usually is the one to keep it together. Ian needs to contain himself and figure things out, he can't keep freaking out like this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Lip frantically scrambles for his phone and his jaw hits the floor when he answers it. "I'll-she-oh my God. I'll be right there." He jumps around for a few seconds, looking completely lost bridge yelling to Fiona "Karen's having her baby!" Fiona smiles up at him and hugs him proudly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" She ushers him off as he runs past Ian, backing up to give Mandy a small kiss on the cheek._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I'll be back later." He whispers to her. "Also, I dint just fuck and leave. I just wasn't in the mood to die early." He says and she shoves him playfully as he bounces off and springs away from the house. In a few hours Lip will be a father, and Ian can't even get Mickey to say that he loves him. In-fucking-credible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Dinner!" Ve screams from inside, and he nearly trips over Frank bent over in front of the stairs. What the Hell? Fiona follows and runs into Ian's back as she stares at the nook in the staircase in confusion. "Frank? What are you doing?" She asks skeptically, and Frank shoots her a sheepish grin before getting back to- whatever it is he's up to. "Frank." Fiona repeats, this time more harsh. She hears a sob come from the small space and she shoves Frank to pull back the blue curtain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Monica?" She asks in shock. "Wha- how long have you been down there." Monica lets out a dry sob in respose and Fiona starts to drag her out by her feet as Monica begs for her to stop. "Well, let's get Monica a seat at the table." Fiona attempts her best smile, but Ian can see the fear in her eyes. Something is going to go wrong and both of them know it, obviously shown in the worried glances they share._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian shakes his head and, in frustration, he nearly throws his chair when he pulls it out. It skids out behind him and Mickey gives him a concerned eyebrow raise as Ian simply dismisses it with a gesture of his hand. Steve and Kev both enter the kitchen, bringing in the turkey, and they nearly drop it when they see Monica standing next to her oldest daughter, looking like a wreck- though none of them would tell her that. "What the Hell." Ve mutters and Fiona shakes her head fiercely as if to warn Ve to shut the fuck up, which she does._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ian stares down his manic mother as she sits next to him at the table, Mickey on the other side trying his best not to look at her. Ian feels like crying, screaming, and laughing all at once. He scrambles to figure out what he is experiencing right now, and in the end just sighs and decides to load up his plate. _Just ignore her, _he tells himself as he keeps his focus on his beautiful mess of a boyfriend, who is currently shoveling piles of mashed potatoes into a bowl.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"-and I pray that my brother, Clayton, burns in Hell for all eternity. Amen." Frank finishes his speech and Mandy nearly spits out her beer in amusement. Fiona hesitates, looking at all the worry-plagued faces at the table, and stopping for a minute to stare at her mothe, before saying, "amen!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Kev slides the turkey down the table to Carl who stabs it with all of his might. Where he got the large butcher knife, who the fuck knows. Everyone seems to be having a great time. Everyone except for Ian, that is. Fiona and Jimmy laugh at the table and Carl throws a turkey leg at Debbie who pours melted butter all over his green beans. It doesn't seem to bother him at all as he shoves a forkful in his mouth anyways, clearly to taunt her. Kev caresses Ve's boob and she throws a baby carrot in his mouth and yells proudly as it makes it in. Mickey spends the larger half of the dinner shoveling as much food as he can down his throat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Jesus, Mickey. It's been- what- a year since you've eaten? Same to you, Mandy." Fiona teases and Mickey barely lifts his head enough to give off the vibe that he is listening, but Ian can tell that the only words Mickey can hear are 'food, food, food'. After finishing off the mashed potatoes, Mickey looks over at an uneasy Ian, who hasn't touched anything on his plate other than a piece of broccoli. Neither has Monica, and Fiona and Mickey share a look of concern as they watch the two silently stare at their full plates._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Ian, you eating those legs?" Kev asks and Ian shakes his head and has to work through an obstacle of utensils and dishes before he can successfully hand the plate over to Kev. Mickey watches Monica with judgmental eyes as she stands up and calmly tells Ian, "I'm gonna go wash my hands." She leaves the table and Mickey sees Ian take a deep breath before he shoves a massive spoonful of carrots into his mouth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Ian! That's gross!" Debbie shouts as he laughs and does it again, this time reaching across the table to scoop green beans from her plate as she bats his hand away. "Ian!" She scolds again and he chuckles, mouth full to the rim with food. Mickey exhales in relief, thanking God (though he's not much of a religious man) that Ian is lightening up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________A small knock at the door is heard as Debbie shoots up, grinning, and says, "Conrad's here!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Who is Conrad, Debs?" Fiona asks in puzzlement as Debbie beams proudly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"My homeless guy I found at the pool!" She opens the door and a buff man walks in, his face softer than his body. He smiles and waves as Fiona grins at him and gestures for him to take a seat, which he does graciously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Sorry, Ian's boyfriend ate all of the potatoes." She says and Mickey grits his teeth in embarrassment as Ian buckles over laughing. Everyone starts cracking up and Mickey can't help it when he sees Mandy's beet red face. He lets out a ferocious roar._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Better than Bald Eagle." Ve argues as Fiona laughs. Conrad probably thinks these people are insane, but it's the tolerable and healthy kind of crazy. As long as he's getting food he's alright with the wild family he's accompanying._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Hey-" Kev argues. "We're still gonna eat that."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Probably tastes like chicken!" Carl grins mischievously and Mickey rips a plate of turkey out of his hand and passes it to Ian._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Everything tastes like chicken." Mickey says snarkily under his breath._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"See! He knows!" Carl exclaims as he points to Mickey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Not everything tastes like chicken. This turkey doesn't taste like chicken. Ian's dick doesn't taste like chicken." Mandy argues and Ian's face goes as red as a tomato as he snorts out a booming giggle that proves to be contagious as the whole table starts laughing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Is there a reason you know that?" Mickey jealously spits. "And his dick is much better than chicken." Mickey mumbles under his breath, only loud enough for Ian to hear. Ian bursts out laughing and before it can be contained, the whole family is cracking up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I was making an assumption." Mandy says and sassily crosses her arms._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Well fuck you." He hisses and she grins._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Ian would be happy to. All ya gotta do is ask."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Hey-" Ian interrupts. "Can we eat first?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah-" Kevin chimes in. "You can't bring that shit up when I'm in the middle of eating a carrot." He takes a bite and, mouth full of food, asks, "Mickey, does Ian's dick look like this."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Aye, that's classified information." He mumbles, and Ian relies for him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"No. It's like nine inches so fuck-" before Ian can finish his sentence, a sound of glass shattering is heard from the kitchen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"What the Hell?" Fiona mumbles as she follows the sound. Kev, being protective, moves in front of her and all Ian can hear is a gasp as Kevin mutters, "holy fuck." Mickey stands up, along with everyone else at the table, and he walks in front of the kids and Ian, knowing that this obviously is something bad._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Oh my fuck." Mandy shrieks as she stares at Fiona in shock. "Fuck." She repeats. Ian pushes past Mickey's limp body and nearly faints at the sight in front of him. His body can't react- it doesn't know what the fuck to do. He can feel his mind and heart stop working, completely give up as he struggles to support his own weight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Monica cries as she lies on the floor, her body secured between two cabinets as her wrists bleed out, the cuts deep and long. Ve grabs both Debbie and Carl as Debbie begins to sob loudly into Ve's hip. Frank pushes through and stares at the scene in front of him, having the same lifeless reaction as Ian._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jimmy rushes forward and dives to aid Monica, Kev helping as Ve rushes the kids upstairs. "We're good, we're good, we're good. More towels." Jimmy orders as Fiona spastically scrambles to find any and all towels and throws them to Jimmy, who works with Kev on securing them onto Monica's wrists. She shivers and the life seems to drain from her body as it continues to shake like an erupting volcano. Frank leaves the house, completely oblivious of the orders being shouted at him, but who can blame the guy?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mickey pulls his gaze away from the blood teeming at his feet to stare at Ian, who is barely standing. He notices his shaky hands and his wide eyes and the short breaths he takes. "Ian." Mickey pulls him towards the kitchen, but Ian can't seem to pull his focus away from the scene ahead. "Ian. Ian can you hear me?" Mickey asks, cupping Ian's face in his hands. Ian nods and it's barely noticable, but Mickey sees it. Mickey also sees the fear and trauma in his eyes, the at they practically bulge out of his head. Mickey knows that Ian's seen some really fucked up shit throughout his childhood, but he knows that this has to make the top spot. Shit, it's even in Mickey's top tens. Not the part about Monica slitting her wrists, but Ian's terrified expression and the way that he is paralyzed by fear._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Fiona burries her head into Mandy's shoulder, who is frantically throwing paper towels at Jimmy. Ambulance sirens are heard blaring through the streets and Ian chokes down a dry sob as Mickey focuses his attention back up at the petrified boy. "Jesus, Ian." Mickey mutters and he wraps his arms around Ian's neck and pulls their bodies so close together that they could suffocate. He rubs Ian's neck soothingly and holds him, Ian's head in the crook of Mickey's neck so he doesn't have to witness the EMTs drag Monica's body in and out of the house. He's seen enough already and Mickey refuses to put Ian through that sort of instability. As his boyfriend, it's Mickey's duty to make sure that Ian is safe and protected. So that's what Mickey is going to do._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________They sit anxiously in the waiting room for about an hour before a nurse comes out to tell them that- thankfully- Monica is in stable condition and that she will be held for 72 hours, just in case. Mickey takes the time that Fiona spends trying to bring Ian back to reality to call Mandy and check on her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Mickey." She cries into the phone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Mandy. Are you alright?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I mean... It reminded me of mom." She croaks hoarsely into the phone as Mickey rubs the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. That's why he knew it all too well. Because of Maria. "Is Ian okay?" She asks as Mickey looks over at Ian's blank expression._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I think he's paralyzed with fear. That's what I heard Jimmy say earlier. He's fucking traumatized."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You know that you're gonna have to stay with him, right? He's gonna need you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah," Mickey takes a deep breath, "I know. I wasn't planning on leaving, anyways. If you need me, call though." He demands as he clicks off. Jimmy approaches Mickey and they both glance back towards Ian heart-wrenderingly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Can you take him home? You can take my truck." Kev begs as Mickey simply nods and places one hand on Ian's back and the other on his bicep to guide him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________They drive home in silence, since Mickey knows Ian doesn't like to talk about this type of shit, and Mickey doesn't know what he'd say anyways. The only other time Mickey has dealt with Ian on an emotional level was when Monica reappeared the first time, claiming her reign over the family once again. Ian knew that she was going to leave, and he told Mickey that he gave up all hope because it was easier to get over the heartbreak if there was none to begin with. Yeah, Ian was upset, but none of that was nearly as bad as this bullshit. And Mickey just hates fucking fate- or whatever- for making Ian go through this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Mickey leads Ian inside to his room, noticing that Carl and Debbie are asleep in Debbie's bed hugging while Ve runs her hand through Carl's minimal hair. She notices Mickey leading a sluggish Ian to bed as he instructs Ian to lay down and try to get some rest. He exits Ian's room and Ve wraps her arms around Mickey, tightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Baby, you can't always go around being a rock. You gotta get some love, too." She coos as she squeezes Mickey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"This didn't effect me. It effected Ian."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Mickey." She gives me a skeptical glare. "I know about Maria. This can't completely escape your mind without some of the grains getting caught in the filter." She says. Mickey doesn't know what to say, so he awkwardly stares at her. She's right. When Mickey stared at the blood, at the way Monica's wrists bled profusely, it reminded him of Maria and when she stabbed herself 15 times. Mandy screamed as Colin and Iggy scrambled to get her to her feet. Mickey, being young and confused, had no concept of what was happening other than knowing that someone was dying. With all that blood, Maria didn't stand a chance of survival._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Their conversation is cut short when Mickey jumps at a sudden shout that startles the shit out of him. The shouts continue and Mickey nervously looks at Ve before rushing into Ian's room. He's sitting on the bed, curled up and his face is pink as he yells incoherent syllables and sounds, all jumbled together to form what he tries to make words._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Hey, hey. Ian. Ian." Mickey walks up to his bedside and places both hands firmly on Ian's shoulders. Ian lifts a quivering hand and sets it on top of Mickey's. He looks up at Mickey's concerned face and Mickey feels panic rise in his chest as tears roll down Ian's cheeks. A loud sob escapes his lips, and he starts to choke on air as the sobs continue to arise from his dry throat like bile. He tries to stop himself, only making it worse, and Mickey watches tensely as he tries to figure out what to do._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Ian." He cries out devistatedly. Ian looks up at Mickey with the most heartbroken expression and Mickey props himself next to Ian on the bed. He brushes Ian's hair out of his eyes, the water making his eyelashes a shiny copper that Mickey finds strangely attractive. He lays down on the bed, his body pressed up against the wall, as Ian imitates the movement. Mickey wraps his arms securely around Ian as he watches Ian's eyes flutter shut and his breathing return to a slower pace. He kisses Ian's cheek daringly, tasting a metallic salt flavor from Ian's tears._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You'll be okay." Mickey whispers to Ian as he, himself, shuts his eyes. But of course with Mickey's luck he can't fall asleep. All he can think about is Monica and Maria and how disappointed they both looked when they saw their kids. Maybe that was why in that moment Mickey resented Monica. He knew that she couldn't control the self harm, she's bipolar after all._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________But the way Monica glared at Ian. She looked up at his shaking body and her eyes shot him down, making him feel guilty. The same way that Maria had made Mickey feel. But, unlike Monica, Maria decided that her last words to Mickey would be something along the lines of 'disappointment' and 'disgrace'. And Terry helped break down young Mickey's self esteem by beating him black and blue while he told Mickey that his mother's death was all his fault. Mickey knew that it wasn't true, that he couldn't blame himself for that. But Ian- Ian isn't like Mickey in that regard. And that terrifies Mickey beyond belief._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after Monica's manic episode, the whole Gallagher family is pretty shaken up. Everyone except for Ian, it seems. Mickey begins feeling very concerned about Ian's strangely normal behavior, and he's not prepared at all for the awaiting outburst that Ian has in store for him. What Mickey has to learn is that Ian is like a volcano: the rumble before the eruption. Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the support I've been giving after writing chapter 1!!!
> 
> I'd like to inform you guys that each part in this series will have 2-3 chapters, the first about Thanksgiving with Ian and Mickey and the Gallagher clan, and the other(s) about the day after the chaos. I hope you guys enjoy this!

Mickey has been awake for about an hour now, still pretending he's asleep so he doesn't have to face Ian after his breakdown last night. It's not that Mickey doesn't want to help Ian, but he doesn't know how to. Mickey heard Ian go downstairs earlier that morning and thought nothing of it at first. But Ian hasn't come back to bed since, and Mickey is starting to feel uneasy. 

Mickey pushes himself up with a grunt and rubs his foggy eyes as he stands up, nearly falling over before securely planting both feet on the ground. He goes to the bathroom, relieves his morning wood with a little jerk, brushes his teeth with Ian's toothbrush (he knows that Ian has the purple one because it's his favorite color), and throws on Ian's sweatshirt as he waddles into the living room.

It's grey and gloomy in the Gallagher house, and though Mickey could blame it on the 6 AM darkness, it's more likely that all of the Gallagher spirit has been drained. It's silent, only the rustling of backpacks and the squeaking of doors filling the pause. Shit, Mickey forgot that it was a school day. Deciding that Ian's sweatshirt is too cozy to take off, Mickey decides to wear that _and_ a pair of Ian's circulation-cuttingly tight skinny jeans. The black of the jeans match Mickey's dark hair and the yellow sweatshirt contrasts brightly off of his pale skin. 

When Mickey looks out the window he sees the moon glowing in the dark sky, the Sun not even bothering to make an appearance. Even the Sun is scarred from last night. Why the fuck Mickey is up before the Sun, he has no clue. But it's better than being late. Not that it matters, he's fucked for life thanks to the Milkovich name only leading to a series of fuck ups. 

Mickey stumbles back into the grim Gallagher living room and when he enters the kitchen a haunting vibe gives off, sending a chill down his spine. It's not haunting as in paranormal, but in a bone chilling way that brings back the memory of Ian's terrified face and the way his sister screamed. 

Fiona had obviously cleaned up the floor last night, but the blood has seeped it's way back onto the tile, dripping from the white cabinets. Mickey sighs and grabs a paper towel, bending down and smoothly rubbing it on the floor in a circular motion. He remembers cleaning up Maria's blood and how rubbing it in only stained the floor more, so he decides that dabbing the towel is more effective. If you go into the Milkovich kitchen and look over at the pantry you can still see the blood stains that Mickey's mother left, the dirty tile colored a faint red. 

Mickey finally soaks up all of the blood, groaning in disappointment. He turns around to see a dour Carl watching him and rubbing his eyes restlessly. He yawns and Mickey gets out of his crouching position to rub Carl's head. He's not used to getting affectionate with the younger Gallagher siblings, but how could he not feel bad for Carl? The poor kid watched his mother bleed on the floor, of course he was going to need all the help he could get. And Mickey wouldn't be surprised if he turned into a psychopath.

"Didn't sleep well?" Mickey asks as Carl shakes his head dreadfully. 

"How could I?" Carl asks Mickey as he sighs in devistation. It was a stupid question of him to ask: of course Carl didn't sleep well. None of them did. Mickey felt Ian get up about fifty fucking times in his sleep and heard Ian wandering around the room. And Mickey wasn't asleep either, having the image of Ian's sad, sad expression burnt into his brain. And Fiona sobbed in her room and Mickey heard Steve or Jimmy or fucking Sebastian or whatever comforting her. Mickey wanted to know how to do that, how to make Ian laugh like Jimmy/Steve/Whatever The Fuck made Fiona smile. 

Speaking of the devil, Mickey sees Ian sitting on the stairs, head in hand as Debbie asks him about his mother. "Is she going to die, Ian?"

"No."

"Why did she do that?"

"Debs, I already told you. She's bipolar. She's sad and she's happy and she refuses to be sane and this is the shit that happens."

"Ian?"

"What."

"Did she leave us on purpose? Did she try to ruin this family?" 

Ian doesn't say anything. He stares up at his little sister and shakes his head, sighing and his voice cracks even with the slightest breath. Mickey can tell that he's on the verge of tears and approaches his brooding boyfriend, grabbing Debbie's shoulders and leading her towards the couch. Mickey sits in front of her and she looks down at him with wide, confused eyes that make Mick's heart ache.

"I'm not sure how to explain this to you. You're smart, like your brother." Mickey nods his head towards Ian. "Your mom has bipolar. I don't know a lot about it but I know that it's being depressed for a week and then the next you're bouncing off the walls."

"Why doesn't she stop?" Debbie asks, her voice innocent and sweet.

"You can't just stop bipolar. You have to take medication and usually people don't want to admit to the fact that they have it. They don't take the meds, like your mom, and this type of shit ends up happening."

"Is that why she left? She always leaves, Mickey." Debbie whispers and Mickey feels his heart fucking shatter into a million pieces, not only from the saddened tone of Debbie's voice and her misunderstanding of the situation, but also from the way Ian looks up at his little sister, tears in his eyes as a shaky breath escapes his lips. 

By now, Lip is watching from the stairway with Fiona and Jimmy, and Carl is sitting next to his little sister as Ian wipes his eyes dry, which doesn't seem to help as the tears keep getting pushed in and come back out like ocean tides. 

"She left because she loves you." Mickey lies as Fiona lets out a relived breath. "She doesn't want to see you hurt, doesn't want you to see her like this. Last night, what you saw was her attempt to a permanent escape. What that means is that she tried to leave for good. But she didn't, it wasn't her time." Mickey tells Debbie and Carl, who both stare at him, dejection in their saucered eyes. 

"How do you know all this?" Carl asks Mickey, who rubs the bridge of his nose in reply.

"Well. I went through it, too. My mom-" Mickey stops, not wanting to trigger the harsh memory. "She did some bad stuff to herself. It scared the shit outta me and I know that you're scared. None of us could sleep last night, Carl. We all feel the same way." Mickey looks over at his dead-silent boyfriend and sighs. "Some of us are more scared than others." Mickey rubs Debbie's shoulder as she silently cries, and Carl rubs her other one. 

Fiona follows Mickey into the kitchen, pulling him into a hug by his muscular bicep. "Thank you." She whispers to him as he nods, rubbing her back still a little tense. If anything good came out of this whole situation, it's that Mickey can express emotions quite easily, he's definitely closer to the Gallagher clan, and he's finally facing his mother's death in a healthier way than drinking himself numb. 

Fiona picks up three brown paper bags and looks at Mickey in confusion. "I'm guessing Ian made them lunch. He's been up since, like, three." Mickey tells her as she shakes her head. "He's acting way too normal. It's not like him." Mickey tells her, his voice plagued with concern.

"Look, Mickey. The thing you gotta understand about my brother is that he's like... He's like a volcano: the rumble before the eruption."

"Wha-" he grunts in puzzlement. "The fuck's that s'posed to mean?" 

"Um. When the volcano is about to explode, it boils up inside. It contains everything before it can't contain anymore of that hot lava and it erupts and erupts until it can't erupt no more. That's what Ian's doing. He's holding it all in until he can't anymore and then he's gonna explode like a volcano." She explains as Mickey nods his head in understanding. So Ian is going to be a rock until he gets crushed into minerals? Mickey's supposed to be the rock, not Ian. What the fuck is Mickey going to do when Ian explodes- or whatever Fiona said. 

________________________________________

Ian and Mickey walk to school in silence, only saying "bye" as they part ways into their separate classrooms. Mickey goes through four boring periods, though he mainly sleeps through the first two, and is finally released to see Ian. He waits for Mandy, who he hugs, and asks about his soon-to-erupt boyfriend, whatever that means.

"Seemed pretty normal through most of class, actually. Tripped the teacher, made stupid jokes to me about some meme or something. Even watched a cat video in class. Normal Ian. Why?" 

"How the fuck do I say this?" Mickey asks as he rubs his forehead in exhaustion. "Okay, Fiona said some shit about Ian being a volcano. Uh, rumble before eruption. You get that shit?"

"Oh yeah. Lip mentioned that." She mumbles. "Ian's not like us, Mick. He doesn't show his anger right away, he builds it up. You have a crazy fuckin' temper and he's able to get his shit under control while you're not too great at it. Just wait, he'll blow up eventually." 

"The fuck does that even mean?" Mickey groans, and before he can complain about anything else he jumps from the loud boom that the lighting creates. It startles the pants off the dark haired boy as he gasps and grunts, feeling like a fucking pussy for freaking out about thunder. 

"Why are we still standing here?" Mandy mumbles as Mickey raises his eyebrow at her in annoyance.

"Ian." 

"Ah. The fuck's taking him so long?"

"If I knew that then I wouldn't be standing here, would I?" Mickey retorts sarcastically as Mandy rolls her eyes. Ian, after a trillion years of waiting, finally exits the classroom. "Jesus, you write a ten page essay while you were in there?" 

"No." Ian laughs and Mickey twists his head to stare at the tall boy in confusion. How the fuck can Ian even force a smile on his face after what he saw last night? Even Mickey isn't heartless enough to laugh and play at a time like this. Fuck the volcano and eruption and all that shit, Mickey gets that Ian can 'control his feelings' but, shit, he doesn't need to act like nothing happened in the first place. 

Mickey, instinctively having an unsettling feeling in his gut, grabs Ian's jacket and pushes his tall boyfriend up against the wall, pinning him with his forearm. "Okay, Ian. I get that you're like an explosion or whatever the fuck, you know I don't do analogies and shit like that. But what the fuck is up with you? You were screaming and crying last night, fucking dead silent this morning, and now you're acting like you just got home from a family fucking trip at Disneyland." Mickey looks around, examining the empty hallways for any hiding souls, and hushes out, "I'm worried about you." 

Ian stares at Mickey's sorrowful eyes, the blue a bright dark shade of concern as his pupils dilate huge to small, a beautiful glass of tears lacing over them. Ian, on the other hand, has gloomy eyes that cast upon Mickey's uncomfortingly pale face, dark blue and green mixing widely in places that his pupil should be. 

"Mickey." Ian mutters as he peels the sad boy's arm away from his chest. "I'm just trying to keep myself together. Better than me being a fucking wreck."

"No." Mickey protests loudly. "No it's not. At least if you were freaking the fuck out right now then I'd know that you're still fucking alive and breathing. I'm the rock, not you so stop acting like you are. I ain't gonna call you a bitch for freaking out, I get it. I know what you're going through-"

"Jesus fuck, Mickey. I don't have time for this bullshit." Ian shakes his head at Mickey's grim words and starts to walk away from the worried boy. Mickey watches him in anger, frustrated that Ian won't just let Mickey help him. It's not often that Mickey is trying to actually be of assistance, but when he is and his help is being refused it pisses him off on a physically and mentally unstable level: his hands start shaking, his eyes narrow and his jaw clenches, his heart starts pumping blood profusely as he can feel his adrenaline course through his veins, and he feels his temperature rise to an abnormal degree. And that's how Ian is making him feel right now. 

"The fuck are you going?" Mickey calls out to Ian. 

"I'm going to the bathroom if you need to know." Ian sassily hisses as he picks up the pace, and Mickey follows right on his heels. He watches Ian enter a stall for whatever reason, and he comes out to see Mick standing on the wall taking a long, much needed drag of his cigarette. Ian rudely snatches the cig out of his boyfriend's fingertips and huffs and huffs on it until it's fucking disintegrated, which makes Mickey kick Ian's ankle in an outburst. 

"Would you like a cigarette?" Mickey snarkily asks, late on purpose so Ian can sense the sarcasm in his tone.

"Fuck off." Ian mutters, walking over to the sink and splashing cold water onto his face. It feels nice, definitely more refreshing than the cig, and it helps keep the anger from steaming up through his pours. "I'll crack soon, don't worry." Ian bluntly tells Mickey, who stares at the floor in misery. Mickey snaps his attention to the sudden darkness that surrounds him and Ian, and also takes over the hallway. On a normal day, a power outage would go unnoticed, people too busy dealing drugs and weapons to give a shit. But today's different. 

Not only is it different for Ian and Mickey after what happened last night, but also because of how depressing the whole day has generally been. The sky, since 8 o'clock this morning, has been casting a dark gray looming cloud over the South Side, practically following Mick and Ian wherever they go. People have been abnormally silent at their school, the only conversation in any of Mickey's classes consisting of muffled exchanges of words involving last week's homework or who was caught selling drugs to who. A somber shadow of despair has been cast upon the classrooms and they hallways with no intention of leaving. Even the sky is sad, crying, as the Sun hides away behind the despondent clouds, dark with dread, as they yell and quake in the sky with anger. 

Mickey keeps a close eye on Ian all throughout fifth and six period. Sure, he seems more depressed than usual- even with hiding his emotions he can't erase the image of Monica's sad lifeless eyes from his mind- but he silently does his work and shares a few quick glances with Mickey, unnoticed by everyone else in the room.

Mickey tries his best to distract himself from Ian's strange behavior by cheating on his test, drawing a rockstar dinosaur on his essay that he procrastinated too long on doing, throwing paper balls across the room at Mandy, flipping off a few dipshits making out in the back of the room, and even tripping Ian twice just to get a reaction out of the younger boy. Ian doesn't react, though, which makes Mickey ten times more unnerved. Ian stares out of the window at the pouring rain, eyelashes fluttering open and shut in an attempt to stay awake from the boredom. Sixth period, math recovery class, doesn't involve math recovery at all. Instead, the teacher goes on his phone the whole time while everyone talks or distracts themselves to make the time fly faster. And unfortunately for Ian, Mickey sits on the other side of the classroom and talks to his sister the whole period, only looking at Ian a few times throughout the 50 minute course. 

The bell finally rings after what seems like ages, and Mickey pushes his way out the door before everyone else bombardes the hallway. He's pissed at this point with Ian's odd behavior, and he's even more frustrated with the fact that the volcano still hasn't erupted. He doesn't like this Ian, the one who acts like seeing his mother bleed out on the floor is okay; like its a normal thing. It's not okay. It's not a normal thing. Yeah, Monica has dragged the Gallaghers through Hell and back- but this shit ain't a normal Thursday, and Ian is acting like he sees it all the damn time.

Mickey shoves the door so hard that it flies open and slams against the brick wall of the school's entrance. He needs some idiot to do something stupid so he can go hit him in the face or kick him in the jaw. He needs to release his anger. Mickey isn't a fucking volcano, he's a tsunami. His anger pours out like the sixty-foot ocean tides and drowns everybody out, breaking faces like a tsunami does buildings. Then, it eventually dies out after it's done its damage and returns back to its normal condition. And Ian is a fucking volcano, holding it all inside until it becomes too much and then explodes with emotion. Water and fire don't mix well, so why does Mickey keep trying? 

Mickey takes the long way home, kicking up rocks with his feet as the rain drowns him with its excessive force. It's coming down hard but Mickey is okay with his hair sticking to his forehead. Also, the rain hides the tears falling down his pale cheeks. They're tears of anger, but Mickey would still be embarrassed if anyone saw him cry like a little bitch. Fucking Gallagher, making him feel things that he refuses to feel. Fucking Gallagher in general. 

Mickey would fuck Gallagher right about now, grip his firey hair and let it fill the gaps between his tattooed fingers. Trace the freckles on Ian's pelvis and count the ones on his alienated face until he lost track. Kiss his tender lips until they turned a flaming red like his hair and became swollen like a bee sting. Nip at Ian's jawline and scratch his back until it bled. And Ian, well Ian would fuck Mickey so hard that his body would rumble like an earthquake and he'd helplessly gasp for air. But instead, Mickey is walking down a desolate alley, alone and dreadfully, getting soaked by the rain as the clothes stick to his slouching body. 

"What the fuck?" Mandy asks a grouchy Mickey as he walks through the door and tears off his dripping coat, carelessly tossing it onto the tile floor. There's probably a million questions going on through Mandy's head, but Ian distracts Mickey from even caring. Ian obviously had the same think-in-the-rain idea as Mickey because his hair is as damp as lake and it's a dirtier orange, and he's stripped down into a soaking wet T-shirt and his boxers. Though the thought makes Mickey want to grab Ian by his shirt collar and drag him upstairs to have delicious and definitely needed sex, and Mickey will put that on his mental 'to-do' list, he has bigger fish to fry. 

"Gallagher. You. Me. Outside. Now." Mickey orders, shifting his finger between him and the jittery freckled boy as he stomps back into the rain. Ian stares at the ground, refusing to look up and acknowledge Mickey's torn face. He knows what to expect, a look of pain and worry mixed with a flame in his eyes from the fury that Ian's stubborn behavior is causing him. Most people would see Mickey's expression as 'hurt' but Ian sees it as much more than that. He sees the defection in Mickey's eyes and can practically feel Mickey's heart burst from the thought that Ian, his own boyfriend, doesn't trust him enough to open up to him.

It's not the Ian doesn't want to tell Mickey what's wrong, he'd never do anything to hurt him. It's that Ian doesn't know how to tell him. Words haven't been invented for the mixed emotions that Ian is dealing with, and he doesn't even know if these feelings are about Monica or Mickey. Yeah, the shit with Monica slicing her wrists was bad and scarred Ian, but that volcano already exploded and it's back to an ashy rock of molten. The shaking volcano is the one titled 'Mickey's Lack Of Expressing His Thoughts' and one wrong move will send lava spewing everywhere. 

"What the fuck is going on? Why the fuck won't you talk to me about the Monica thing so I don't have to wait for you to freak the fuck out about it?" Mickey spits at Ian angrily. 

"Because I'm not upset about Monica." 

"Then what the fuck is going on?!" 

Here it comes.

"What's going on? Oh, maybe the fact that you act like you care but only when it's us. By all means, if a person is in a fifty mile radius then you act like you don't even know me." Ian huffs and Mickey stares at him, eyebrow arched low in disbelief and he's wearing a sour expression. 

"Jesus fuck, Ian. Now's when you decide to freak out about that shit. In-fucking-credible. You never had a goddamn problem with this before so why the hissy fit?" 

"Because I'm sick of being your sex toy! You don't even love me!" 

Mickey rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration. He does love Ian, and he's shown it many fucking times so why does he have to say it. If he doesn't say the words does it mean that it's not true? Actions speak louder than words, right? 

"We're not a fuckin' married couple, Ian." He groans.

"Are-" Ian takes a deep breath and plasters his palms over his eyes. "Are we even a couple, Mickey?" 

Mickey inhales a jagged breath and exhales just as raggedly. "Well you ain't just a fuckin' sex toy to me, Gallagher. Thought you'd get that hint sooner." 

"What does that even mean, Mickey?"

"It's means yes, Ian! You need me to teach you the entire English language while I'm at it? Lord." Mickey's voice projects louder the more annoyed he gets, and that makes Ian upset. But Mickey's not annoyed, but more nervous. He wants to be in a relationship with Ian. He wants to introduce him as his boyfriend and hold hands with him in public, but he also doesn't want to get his ass kicked. 

"You know what, stop being such a dick! For once be nice to me! It's the fucking day after my mother-" Ian's voice cracks from his excessive yelling and tears slip down his cheeks, "-it's the day after my mother nearly killed herself and you're treating me like shit! Why can't you just- fuck. I don't even fucking know what to ask from you anymore." Ian, face still bright red and stained with tears that are too plentiful to pass off as rain, gets threateningly close to Mickey's face and pushes him backwards with his pointer finger. "You don't know what I'm fucking going through so-" his voice cracks again as Mickey looks at the taller, more vulnerable boy in sympathy, "-so until you experience my bullshit don't be a fucking ass."

Ian pushes away from Mickey and hits the wall beside his sorrowful boyfriend, beating it with his fist and pressing into it as tears silently fall down his cheeks like the raindrops plunging from the foggy sky. Mickey cautiously approaches Ian, hand on his shoulder and he turns him around to pull him into his chest. They stand in the rain, Ian's back quaking and Mickey's stomach churning from seeing Ian so poorly executed like this. 

After a few minutes of Ian heartily crying into the crook of the older boy's neck, Mickey pulls him back to examine his bloodshot eyes and hugely dilated pupils. Mickey takes off his flannel and dries Ian's hair with it, earning a giggle from the boy with the swollen eyes. 

"Ya know, I do know what you're going through." Mickey says to Ian. He won't get detailed, not only to save himself the trauma but to also deprive Ian of sad reminiscing. "I was six when my mom stabbed herself. She was in the kitchen when I heard Mandy scream and glass shattered when it hit the floor and I remember just watching her bleed out." Mickey stares at the building in front of him, mind out of focus and his vision a blurry mess. "The last thing she said to me was 'you ruined this family.' And that was it. And I didn't even feel bad watching her die at that point." Mickey shrugs off the memory, looking up at Ian's guilty face and his drooping eyebrows. "Don't feel bad. You didn't know." 

After a few moments of silence, and Mickey letting Ian hold his cold hand as they grip each other's fingers tightly, Ian whispers, "I'm sorry." 

"It's alright. I shoulda told you before, anyways." Ian rolls himself over on the wall so that he's in front of Mickey, their noses touching shamelessly and their eyes so close that they're seeing two of each other. Without warning, and that's how they both do things anyways, Ian crashes his lips into Mickey's, parting them to slip in his warm tongue. It circulates around Mickey's mouth, exploring it like new found land. Mickey's heart is exploding, fireworks shooting off in his mind, and his eyes would be big pink hearts if he were a cartoon. 

The boys pull back, Mickey gasping for air and Ian longing for more of Mickey, all of him. Mickey's hands run across Ian's body, his fingertips tracing over veins he never noticed and bruises from the day before. A large scab is starting to form on Ian's elbow in the shape of what Mickey thinks kind of looks like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. As Ian is in the process of biting the older boy's neck and giving him hickies in obvious places that Mandy will definitely discover later, Mickey ruins the moment. 

"You ever seen Monsters Inc.?" He asks as Ian pulls away and gives him a puzzled eyebrow raise. 

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"Look." Mickey points his finger at Ian's swollen bruise on his arm. "It looks like Mike Wazowski. Ya know, the little green guy, his face is, like, 80 percent eye." That last remark makes Ian double over in laughter, though the whole situation is hilarious. Ian's body shakes and he struggles to get air as his eyes start to tear up and he looks up at Mickey with squinting eyes. 

"Are you high?" Ian asks as Mickey rolls his eyes and punches Ian in the shoulder playfully. 

"Fuck off. You can't see it?" He points to a blu-ish circle surrounded by a purple-pink colored oval. "His little egg body and his eye." He then shows Ian the red circle in the center of the eye. "The pupil." He brings Ian's attention to a black half moon forming, and Ian starts to realize that his bruise actually does look like Mike Wazowski. Why Mickey thought of that, Ian has no fucking clue. "And there's his mouth." 

"Well shit. There's probably more where that came from." Ian suggests as he pulls Mickey by his wrist into the house. "If you want, we can find Sully and Randall in the bedroom. And you can unleash the monster in my pants." Ian winks as Mickey laughs. 

How did he end up with someone this ridiculous? 

Mickey shoves Ian up the stairs, getting more impatient by the second, and when the door shuts the only noise heard is the squeak of the bed and Mickey exclaiming, "I found Sully!"

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr @officialbroop for the latest Gallavich Asthetic and Crappy Sappy Grand Papi posts that made that old man give his dog a bone and go rolling home. (Honestly this took a weird turn but I hope you're still on board)


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